Golf-club



W. J. KEYS.

GOLF CLUB l ATION FILED OCT. 29, 19I9- 4 APPL C 1,378,416. Patented Mayv 17, 1921.

@A v s v UNITED STATES f T NTIOF ICB WILLIAM J. KEYS, or nUTcHInsomKANsAs, Assrenoaro THE on'awroiin, I J MOGREGOR AND CANBY 00., or DAYTON, care, A coaronarron or. 01110.-

GOLF-CLUB.

To all wkomz'tmag concern: 7 7 Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. KEYS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hutchinson, in the county of Reno and State The object of the invention is to simplify the'structure as well as the means and mode of reinforcing the striking face of golf. club heads, whereby they may not only be, economically manufactured, but will bemore efficient in use, afford long distance flight of the ball, and unlikely to get out of repair.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved meansv for anchoring theinserted striking face whereby it will be not only less susceptible to the loosening influence of expansion and contraction, but

will be held securely against the loosening the face upon the effect of the impact. of ball.

A further and important object ofthe invention is to provide means for securely cm? to utilize to bestadvantage the peculiar advantageous characteristlcs of this material,

bedding in the golf club head a body ofivory arranged in such relation with the'head as while 'minimizing the disadvantages thereof.

With the above primary and other incidental objects, in view as will more fully appear in the specification, the invention consists of the features of construction, the parts and combinations thereof, and the mode of operation or their equivalents as hereinafter described and set forth in the claims. p

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 1s .a perspective view of thehead of a golf club to which the present invention has been applied. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional vlew substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Flg.

' 3 isa perspective 'of the insert body prior to its introduction into the club head.

Like parts are indicated by similar characters. ofreference throughout the several views. Y

The invention herein shownand described is particularly adapted for embodiment 1n drivers and brassies. V In the drawings there is shown .a club of which is the head, and

Specification of Letters Patent.

P n ed l y 17,;192-1l 1 g I Application filed October 29, 1919. Serial No. 334,359.

7 2 the usual handle shaft It has long been. i

the practice to provide thestriking facel3 of the head 1 withan'inserted body 4 of some" material which will withstand metal-d I usage and repeated impaction or'blows to .6

which a golf 0111bis subjected, and-which will atthe same time' afford aquick'acting' solld strlklng surfacewhich will give dis-j] tance to the ball." Ivory has been frecogniz'ed as a desirable material so far'as its '65 action' upon the ball is concerned,"ybut it possesses the'disadvantageof a wide range of expanslon and contraction under varying climatic and temperature conditions. "As a result of the high factor of'e'xpansion vandi contractlon, various attempts to cement the lnsert bodyin the head 1 of'the' club have not been entirely successful The contracf tion of'the inserted body under such condi-;

tions causes it to be loosened in its se'at orf 75. socket and .eventually'entirely"disengaged i i I from the club. Moreover,it has been customary, due ,to'eeonomy ofY-r'naterialfor with] V the intent of affording a rigid impact sur I faceyfrom which the ball will rebound 30 quickly, to arrange the'inserted-ivory body 'Wlth-the grain thereof in line with the direcf tion of the swing ofthe'club, or-perpendicu-- lar to the face 3 thereof, whereby the blo'w'j is ireceived upon the end of the grain or} 5 upon a' cross sectional surface of the ivory? There isat present a theory among the eX-f' pertplayers, whether the'same'be true or not, that distance inthe fiightof the ball" is attained not by aquick reboundof'the; ball when engaged-by the club, but by an action in which the, clubrmomentarily fol-. lows theflball in its initial flight, giving it the effect of a sudden push. Thuswhile aquick acting striking surface is highly .95 desirable or inother words, one-which is not sluggish the; effect'fupon the ballfshould not be too quick or too sudden, the action should be such that, some portion of the momentumaof the club is transferred to the headl. v

This arrangement, of. the ivory insert 1 1 0 in relation with the direction of its grain,

'involves twoimportant functions, first the impact of the club upon the ball is received not axially or in line with the grain, but transversely upon a longitudinal section of r the ivory body. The tendency of the ball torebound or get away too quickly and before receiving the momentum of the club is overcome, and the ball seems to stay with the club untilitreceives the full force of;

the blow, and thus greater distance is attained. Second, the expansion and contraction of the ivory body under varying gclimatic and temperature conditions is least in the direction of'the grain and greatest in "a direction transverse .thereto, for this reason when the ivory body isarranged with the grain perpendicular to'the striking face, the shrinkage of the inserted body isaway from the walls of. the socket or recess in the head. Whereas arranged as shown in the drawing, with the ends of the'grain contiguous to the walls .of the socket or recess.

in which the body is inserted, there will be but little shrinkage or loosening effect. The shrinkage or contraction of the body in this event will occur vertically in relation withthe club head, and-inasmuch as the insert intersects the top and bottom surfaces of the head, such shrinkage is immaterial.

Moreover, the construction as illustrated in thedrawing, enables the inserted body to be more accurately and closely fitted to the head. In preparing the heada recess or cavity is bored in the striking face which recess 1s of clrcular form and of suchslze that the top and bottomofthe recess intersect the top and bottom surfaces of the club head. 'Sucha circular recess or pocket may be conveniently and accurately formed with an ordinary auger-bit or may be turned in the head by mounting the head in a lathe or other suitable apparatus.v The body to be inserted is turned from ivory stock '45 into a circular disk-like formation of proper thickness, and having a diameter substantially equal to that of the recess or socket. 'In turning the insert,-it is shaped in such manner that the grain of the ivory extends transversely across the flat face of the disk, the ends of the grain being exposed upon the periphery of the body.. In

locating the ivory insert in the head,jthe

ends of the grain are brought into registry with the sides of the'recess or pocket by turning the insert to aposition in which the grain extends horizontally or substantially parallel with the sole of the club.. When so inserted the top and bottom of the disk extend somewhat above the top and bottom surfaces of'the club head as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. This excess of material may belater removed and the insert contoured to agree with the contour of the club head. The insert belng engaged in the club head upon those sides having the least factor of expansion and contraction, and the sides of the insert most susceptible to expansion and contraction under varying climatic and temperature conditions, being exposed much variation of the inserted body will have little or no effect. i

To securely anchor the insert in thesocket or recess, it is cemented byany suitable adhesive and in addition thereto thereare provided in the ivorybody one or more counterbored holes 5 extending through the body from the front to the rear faces thereof.

Seated within these counter-bored holes and engaging the head of the club are screws 6. the heads of which i engage the .internal shouldersor'seats in thecounter-bored holes 5. These screws serve to draw the inserted body into 'firm engagement with the bottom of the recess or socket and to anchor the insert in its adjusted position. The counterbored holes 5 are screw threaded in their outer portions as at 7 and in such screw threaded portions are inserted screw threaded plugs 8 also of ivory which not only conceal the attachment screws 6, but. af-.

ford a continuous uninterrupting .face. These screw threaded plugs are also preferably coated with an adhesive cement before being inserted in the screw threaded holes 5. The screw threads serve to firmly anchor these plugsv and to prevent disen- .gagement, to take the shockand protect the adhesive cement from unduestrain. It is obvious that in lieu of ivory plug-8 various ornamental deslgns may be effected by providing plugs of different material and particularly of different'color and arranging;

the holes 5 in various ornamental relations 7 V i 10 5 While ivory is the desirablematerial for' or designs.

inserts itlis of course quite expensive and for other and cheaper varieties of" clubs,

various other materialsmay be used. For instance, lignumvitae wood, ebony, or vari ous other materials of fibrous character or possessing a. grain. may be employed in which case the grain is arranged transversely to the line of force and preferably horizontally or parallel with the sole of theclub in the manner heretofore described.

Therefore while as before stated, 'ivoryis form, proportions, detail construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the principle involved or sacrificing any of its advantages. 7

While in order to comply with the statute the invention has been described. in language more or less specific as to structural features, it is to-be understood that theinvention is not limited to the specific de tails shown, butthat the means and construction herein disclosed comprise but one of several modes of putting the invention into effect, and the invention is therefore claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the legitimate and valid scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination with the head of a golf club, of a body of ivory inserted in the striking face thereof, the grain of the ivory insert being arranged parallel with the face of the club.

2. The combination with the head of a golf club of an ivory body inserted in the striking face thereof, the grain of the ivory body being arranged perpendicular to the direction of the impact ofthe body upon the ball.

3. The combination with the head of a golf club, of a body of ivory inserted inv the striking face thereof, the grain ofthe ivory insert being disposed horizontally and transverse to the direction of impact of the body upon the ball.

4. The combination with the head of a golf club of a body of ivory inserted in the striking face thereof and extending vertically from the top to the bottom thereof and of less length thanthe striking face of the club, the grain of said body being.

extended longitudinally in relation with the striking face.

5. The combination with the wooden head of a golf club of a fibrous body inserted in the striking face thereof,the head and inserted body being arranged with their directions of maximum and minimum ex,-

pansion and contraction in substantially parallel relation.

V 6. The combination -with the wooden head of a golf club of a fibrous body'inserted in the striking face thereof with the M fibers of the club head and those of the insert extending in the same direction where by the directions of maximum and minimum expansion and contraction of the head and insert will-coincide.

7. The combination with a golf club head 1 rthreaded' orifice therein, an attachment member for the inserted body introduced through said orifice into engagement with the club head and a screw threaded plug engaged in said orifice and covering the attachment member.

9. The combination of a golf club head .and an inserted body embedded therein, extending from one face to the opposite face of the golf club head in the direction of greatest expansion and contraction of the insert, the insert being overhung at its opposite ends by the head in the direction of least expansion and contraction of the insert.

1 0. The combination with a golf club head, of'an insert embedded in the striking face thereof, having counter-bored orifices therein, attachment members seated in said counter bored orifices and engaging the club head and plugs of material similar to the insert fitted in said orifices over said attachment members.

11. The combination of a golf club head and an inserted body embedded therein, extending substantially from one face to the of the head, and overhung at its opposite ends by] the head in the direction of least expansion and contractionof the head.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 3rd day: of October, A. D. 1919.

, WILLIAM J. KEYS.

Witnesses i L. F. MEYER,

. E. R. QUINCY. I

opposite face of'the head in the direction x r of the greatest expansion and contraction 

